Tag Archives: Clackamas

I hope this finds you healthy staying positive and not too stir crazy in the midst of this crisis. Many of you have reached out to me to talk about how the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting the real estate market so I thought I would start sharing local market data, as well as my professional experience in the day to day real estate world with you.

Overall, the number of listings coming on the market was increasing up until about mid-March, since then new listings have slowed a bit. Real estate is still considered an “essential” business and we are still showing homes under a strict code of conduct to ensure safety and health for all parties involved. Title companies are doing remote signings and one on one appointments with social distancing guidelines in place for signings requiring notaries.

There are still buyers and sellers actively pursuing real estate. In fact, 347 homes went pending last week (3/30/20-4/6/2020) in the Portland-Metro areas:

As a full time real estate broker of 24 years, I have been through many market changes and have weathered many Real Estate storms, including the boom of the early 2000’s, 9-11, the great economic recession of 2008, as well as the hot & fast appreciating market of the last 5-6 years. I have the experience, extensive skills, “know how” and expansive resources to help you through this changing time. I have no crystal ball, but what I do know is these changes are temporary and can shift a market in a way that can create a lot of opportunity.

Let’s stay in touch through this and I’ll keep you posted with what’s happening!

Always feel free to call, text or email me!

IT’S A GOOD LIFE!!

Five Star award Winner 2011- 2020 honoring the top 7% of real estate professionals in Oregon.

Hanging out with your family or hosting friends on your old, dingy deck is not very appealing. Lucky for you, refreshing it doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. Try your hand at the makeover ideas below!

Restore your decking. Depending on the shape it’s in, sometimes all your deck needs is a little love. If it’s still fairly new, your deck might just need a deep cleaning and a new coat of sealant. There is a multitude of deck finishing and cleaning solutions on the market to choose from to achieve this. However, if it’s more worn down, the rejuvenation process may be a bit longer, including searching for larger repairs, tightening any hardware, giving it a good cleaning, applying a stain, sealant, and paint, and more.

Add lighting. Ambient lighting can completely transform your outside space into a relaxing, cozy oasis. Consider adding solar lights that don’t require a plugin or battery replacement. The lights turn on automatically when the sun sets, making your deck come alive. You can also consider paper lanterns, rope lights, mason jar lamps, or small twinkle lights, depending on the style and mood you’d like to set.

Build a privacy screen. Privacy screens come in all styles, shapes, and sizes. Consider purchasing and installing bamboo fencing or lattice panels for a quick and easy solution. Or, if you are feeling a little more adventurous, you can build a wooden frame and grow climbing plants or vines or stretch outdoor fabric in between. Whichever route you end up choosing, make sure you get the most out of your efforts by evaluating all lines sight before building.

Home Equity. Getting a home equity line of credit allows you to borrow money against the value of your home. You receive usually up to 80 percent of your home’s value, minus the amount of your loan.

Retirement Funds. Homeowners can consider pulling money from a 401K or IRA account, even though they aren’t specifically meant to cover a home renovation. This option might incur additional penalties or tax payments, but maybe worth it when making improvements that will benefit them financially in the long run.

IT’S A GOOD LIFE!!

Five Star award Winner 2011- 2020 honoring the top 7% of real estate professionals in Oregon.

After years of normalizing neutral color palettes, for example, designers are embracing more colorful trends to showcase personality in homes. REALTOR® Magazine’s Styled, staged and sold blog asked designers and stagers what home interior trends they’re most grateful for this year. Here are their top picks.

1. More colorful spaces

Goodbye, white kitchens and gray walls. More color is moving in. Homeowners favor bolder hues inside the home, not just for pops of color but also as a base color for an entire room. Paint companies have chosen variations of blues, pinks, and greens as their picks for 2020 color of the year. These colors also are being splashed on kitchen cabinets, exterior doors, and home accessories.

The paint firm PPG selected Chinese porcelain, a blend of cobalt and muted navy tones, as its 2020 color of the year. Sherwin Williams followed suit with Naval, a deep navy blue.

Behr’s top 2020 pick is a meadow-inspired yellowish green called Back to Nature.

Pinks also are catching on. HGTV Home by Sherwin Williams, the company’s offshoot brand, chose a blush hue called Romance, while Benjamin Moore chose a soft, rosy hue called First Light.

2. Luxury vinyl flooring

A design trend that’s stylish but low maintenance, luxury vinyl is enjoying popularity as an alternative to hardwood and ceramic tile flooring. Vinyl is touted as being cheaper, warmer, and softer on your feet; it also requires less upkeep than traditional hardwood or tile.

Today’s luxury vinyl shouldn’t be mistaken for linoleum and other varieties of sheet flooring. Luxury vinyl can be laid out in planks, tiles, and sheets, and it comes in trendy finishes. Luxury vinyl planks can resemble the look of hardwood and are offered in handscraped and wide plank varieties. The planks can be installed diagonally or in a trendy herringbone pattern, and they also can resemble tile and marble.

The lower maintenance of luxury vinyl is appealing to families with young children and pets. It’s a water-resistant material that works easily in kitchens and bathrooms.

3. Voice-controlled smart appliances

Alexa, Google Home, and Siri are ushering in a new and advanced era of smart-home technology. The choices are growing, too: Smart plugs, for example, cost as little as $10 and enable you to say: “Alexa, turn on the lights.” Add smart lightbulbs that can be controlled via voice assistants, as well as other appliances such as the thermostat, door locks, and security cameras. Suddenly, smart homes have become more attainable and cost-effective.

4. Statement ceilings

Finally, a reason to look up! The homes fifth wall is commanding the spotlight In the roaring ’20s, stamped ceilings, such as those plated in copper or tin decorative sheets, were popular. But the trend faded in favor of smooth ceiling finishes. Now, the statement ceiling is back.

This time, however, paint, wallpaper, or wood moldings are the ceiling accents of choice. A statement ceiling can brighten up a space and make it memorable, says Katie Skoloff, principal designer and founder of In Site Designs, an interior design firm in Greenville, S.C. “We find the interest on a ceiling draws the eye up, and you cannot help but feel the space is there to ‘wow’ you,” she says. Wallpapered ceilings, as well as wood beams and coffered ceilings, are today’s standout options.

5. Contrasting kitchen design

Along with more colorful interiors, the white kitchen is fading in favor of a bigger statement, including tuxedo cabinetry, shiny hardware, and brass-trimmed range hoods.

Polished brass on cabinet hardware, range hoods, and appliance handles shines in otherwise white kitchens, appearing to be like jewelry for the space. Café, a hardware line for the GE Appliance brand, offers customizable options in various metals for refrigerator or oven handles. For example, soft-brushed copper handles can be added to a matted white refrigerator for a more contemporary vibe.

Contrasting kitchen cabinets, such as the tuxedo kitchen, also are gaining popularity. The trend calls for upper and lower cabinets to be painted different colors—perhaps white on top and a gray or dark walnut on the bottom. It’s essentially a way to add more visual interest to an otherwise all-white display.

An alternative—and slightly less bold—version of this trend is also taking root, such as all-white cabinets and a contrasting kitchen island in a deep blue, gray, or walnut color.

IT’S A GOOD LIFE!!

Five Star award Winner 2011- 2019 honoring the top 7% of real estate professionals in Oregon.

A 2018 survey from Home Staging Resource found that 85 percent of staged homes sold for 6-25 percent more than homes in the same market that weren’t staged. According to the National Association of Realtors®, the three most commonly staged areas are the living room (83 percent), kitchen (76 percent) and master bedroom (69 percent).

Consider these home-staging tips.

Living room: To eliminate dark shadows and enhance the decor, brighten up the room with chic lamps. Remove oversized furniture and arrange the rest in conversational groupings. When it comes to accessories, go for symmetry, which is most pleasing to the eye.

Kitchen: Clear everything off the countertops except for a pretty bowl of fruit or another decorative item. Pare down the dishes, utensils and appliances in your cabinets and drawers to make these storage areas look bigger. Scrub dirt, grime and stains from walls, cabinets, backsplashes, and floors. Clean and organize the pantry. Store trash cans in the garage.

Master bedroom: Consider replacing a king bed with a queen or full size to increase the available floor space. Pack up more than half of the clothes in the closets and then place remaining items on matching hangers. Store jewelry and other valuables in a safe spot. Be sure an attractive, neutral-colored comforter is the focal point of the room.

Five Star award Winner 2011- 2019 honoring the top 7% of
real estate professionals in Oregon.

Last year’s typical home buyer was 46 years old, and 34 percent of
all buyers had children under age 18 living at home, according to data
compiled by the National Association of Realtors®. Here are some of the other findings in this annual profile, which is the longest-running buyer survey in America.

· Married
couples represented 63 percent of all buyers, 18 percent were single
females, 9 percent were single males, and 8 percent were unmarried
couples.

· Due to the lack of inventory available for purchase, sales of new homes dropped from 16 percent to 14 percent.

· The percentage of first-time buyers dipped slightly from 34 percent of all home buyers in 2017 to 33 percent in 2018.

· Among
repeat buyers, 12 percent bought multi-generational homes to
accommodate either aging family members or young adults over age 18.

Five Star award Winner 2011- 2019 honoring the top 7% of
real estate professionals in Oregon.

Sustainability is the key word in new home construction. Rising energy costs, poor air quality and wasteful water usage are driving the consumer demand for greener houses, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Energy-efficiency measures:
Buyers of new homes have come to expect high levels of insulation,
efficient HVAC systems, high-performance windows, and energy-saving
appliances and lighting.

Water conservation practices: Water-efficient
fixtures and appliances, whole-house filtration systems, and
low-maintenance landscaping are three ways to conserve this precious
natural resource.

Material selections: Durable
products that are as long-lasting as they are eco-friendly include
high-performance engineered wood, wood alternatives, recycled building
materials, and sustainably harvested lumber.